let's play it. >> tea party 2 is going to dwarf ta tea party 1 if obama pushes us off the cliff. >> this was in reference to the president. he's threatening we will see a new, stronger tea party if we go off the cliff. >> yes. grover norquist also predicted an overwhelming victory by mitt romney and was proven wrong then, too. i think he and other republicans are playing a very dangerous game with their own political futures by failing to see the connection between this situation and the situation we were in around 1995 when there was a government shutdown. republicans thought they could drive this to the bitter end, and what happened? the american voters actually blamed them, the republicans, for what happened. i think it's a pattern in american politics when things happen that are, in effect, harmful government shutdowns, if you will, or breakdowns of process, the blame usually ends up on the side of the obstructionists in the republican party. i think there are enough republicans who want to win re-election who see that the strategy of obstruction failed them in this last election. th